The Farewell Tour
by ChelseaxQ
Summary: The Doctor lands on a planet in ruins. Noctura, a refuge for the future of the human race, plagued by alien attacks, and a young girl who asks for his help. Can The Doctor save the planet and it's people, can he even save himself? Will he finally realize that you can't run from your past, or your future.
1. Noctura

I own nothing, all rights and characters property of the BBC. I'm just borrowing them.

Reviews are always appreciated.

* * *

The Doctor stood at the T.A.R.D.I.S console hesitantly. He wondered what he should do next. Well, he knew what he should do next, but upon reflection he realized that there was an entire universe out there, just waiting for him. He decided that the "shoulds" could wait and the "coulds," well they were always much more fun anyway.

The Doctor having made his decision was determined to see it through. He set the coordinates at random and threw back the lever without a moment's hesitation. He was grinning like a madman as the T.A.R.D.I.S lurched about, coming to a halt quite suddenly. He stepped towards the door, his hand lingered over the handle for a second before he opened and stepped outside.

The Doctor looked around him, baffled by what he saw, or what he didn't see would be a more accurate description. It was pitch dark, not so much as a flicker of like could be seen. The Doctor thought he must have landed in a cupboard somewhere, but he felt a light breeze playing across his face. He took his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and held it out in front of him.

It emitted a loud buzzing sound and a flare of green light, not very bright, but enough for him to see general outlines. He took a look around and saw that he was in a city street. He noticed that many of the buildings were damaged and some were nothing but rubble. Before he could begin to wonder what had happened several things occurred. The Doctor heard a noise behind him, he turned quickly to see a figure and then he was unconscious.

He awoke what felt like several hours later feeling groggy. When his head stopped spinning he noticed a crack of light a few feet away from him. He figured it must be a door, but what was in the other side of the door, he shuddered to think. He didn't have long to ponder the mess he had gotten himself into, because he heard movement from the other side of the door. His hearts beat fast as the door creaked open to reveal a man. He stood before The Doctor; his mouth set in a grim line and looked upon him with eyes that held no mercy.

"Hello," said The Doctor cheerfully, trying to wave and realizing that he was tied to the chair he sat on.

The man continued to stare, finally speaking after what seemed like an eternity. "You have been deemed a threat and will be executed forthwith." He said in a rough voice.

"Right," said The Doctor uneasily. "Executed, not good. Er, did you say threat? Because I am a lot of things, good cook, terrific dancer, wine expert, although I hate the stuff, but the one thing I am most certainly not, is a threat. Believe me."

"And why should I do that? You were found in a restricted area in possession of an unidentified weapon."

"Weapon?" asked The Doctor. "Oh, you mean my screwdriver. It's not a weapon, it's completely harmless, well mostly, if you're made out of wood."

The man took a step forward, scrutinizing The Doctor. "You talk too much," he said. "We will see to that."

Just then a woman entered the room. "Is that him, Dad?" She was young, no more than twenty, with auburn hair and kind eyes.

"Jo. I am interviewing a dangerous prisoner." He said forcefully.

"Look at him," said Jo plaintively. "I mean he doesn't exactly look dangerous. He doesn't look like them, he looks like us.

"He could be their new weapon. He'll lure into a false sense of security and then attack. Well. I for one won't be taken in by it." He said.

"That thing he was carrying-"

"Screwdriver." said The Doctor helpfully.

"Right," said Jo. "They tested it, it's not a weapon. It's harmless."

"Yes," said The Doctor quickly. "I think we should all listen to her, she is clearly sensible young lady."

The man's hands plunged into his pocket and withdrew a small penknife, which he used to cut The Doctor's bonds.

"Thank you." said Jo.

"Yeah, thanks Dad." said The Doctor.

"You're lucky my daughter was here." was all he said.

"Right, well, intros, I'm The Doctor, and this is Jo." said The Doctor pointing to Jo. "And who are you? I mean I can't just go around calling you Dad, unless you want me to, and it looks like that is not what you want, okay." The Doctor shut up looking nervous.

"I'm General Hayes of the 133rd Platoon."

"Okay, good to meet you General," said The Doctor. "And good to meet you, Jo. Right, I've got a question for you, Jo. Earlier when you were talking you said that I didn't look like "them." What did you mean by that? Who are they?"

They both looked at him baffled. "You honestly don't know?" asked Jo.

"No." replied The Doctor.

"We are at war." said General Hayes forcefully.

"Ah, that would explain the state of the city. Oh yes, one more question, where am I?"

"You really are joking now." said Jo.

"Fraid not." said The Doctor. "Just landed randomly, I have absolutely no idea where I am."

"It's a long story." said General Hayes. "C'mon, I'll tell you all about it."

"Good and we can have a nice cup of tea as well. I don't suppose you have any Jammie Dodgers, do you?" asked The Doctor, but her got no reply.

Several minutes later The Doctor sat sipping a cup of tea, looking expectantly from General Hayes to Jo.

"This planet," began General Hayes, "is called Noctura. It's called that because there's no light. The sun burned out millions of years ago. Other than that, the planet is exactly like the earth. A few years ago it was decided that something had to be done about the population on earth. It was much too high; there wasn't enough food people were dying. That's when they decided to send one third of the human race here. Not all at once of course, but over a period of two or three years."

"But, how could you live with no light?" asked The Doctor. "I mean those buildings out there couldn't have been built in the dark, could they?"

"I'm getting there." said General Hayes. "Before the humans could be sent here, they needed a way to make light. It took them a while to think of it, but they did in the end. Across this entire planet are these lamps, sort of like street lamps, but these ones are massive. Hundreds of feet tall, so tall that you can't even see the tops of them. There must be thousands of them scattered around, maybe millions. When lit they create the illusion of a sun, bright enough to light every nook and cranny of this world. If it weren't for the poles they sit on you'd forget they were even there."

"Hold on," interrupted The Doctor again, "How are you lot powering these things? They can't be solar powered and lights that size would use an impossible amount of electricity faster than you could produce."

"A rather genius invention, I must say. The poles of the lights run down into the ground, all the way to the earth's core. They harness the power of the constantly shifting molten lava. The power is converted and with a flip of a switch this planet is bathed in light. A natural and renewable resource, perfect. And it was perfect at first. People settled in well, and were getting on with their lives. After about a year is when things went wrong."

At that moment a man in a uniform approached the. He bent and whispered something in General Hayes' ear. "If you will excuse me, there is an urgent matter that I must see to. Jo can take it from here." said General Hayes, standing."

"Any chance I can get my sonic screwdriver back?" asked The Doctor hopefully.

"Not a chance." replied General Hayes promptly.

"Didn't think so." said The Doctor gloomily.

"Bye Dad." said Jo smiling, as General Hayes stalked from the room.

"Ball of fun, your Dad." said The Doctor.

"It's not easy for him, you know. He's not really been the same since Mum died."

"What happened?" asked The Doctor gently.

"I'm getting to that," said Jo. "Now, where were we? Oh, yes, the invasion. They came out of the sky, millions of them. They slaughtered thousands. It happened so fast, we didn't even see them. Everything was just chaos and fire. When the smoke cleared, we heard a voice. I'll never forget what it said 'Resist and you will perish.' That's all it said, over and over again, for hours. When it was finally quiet, when we were sure they'd gone, we came out of where we'd been hiding. The city was wreaked, not as bad as it is now, but pretty close. Of all the attacks that have happened since, none has ever been as bad as that first one. Anyway, Mum was working that day, she was a librarian. She loved books, when I was little she would read to me every before bed, she still did it, even when I got older. I would pretend I didn't like it, you know, but I loved it. I was home alone when it happened. When it was over Dad called to make sure I was alright, and told me not to leave the house under any circumstances. I couldn't stay in the house, I had to find Mum. The library wasn't too far from our house; I ran all the way there. I knew the second I saw the crowd of people. I pushed through and saw it. The building had been hit dead on, there wasn't anything left but rubble, there were no survivors."

"I'm sorry." said The Doctor sincerely.

"It's alright." said Jo. "Everybody's lost someone they love, I'm no different."

"When did all of this start?" asked The Doctor.

"It was a little over a year ago. After about four more attacks, they went for the lights. I don't know what they did, but we've been in complete darkness now for six months."

"Can't anyone fix them?" asked The Doctor.

"We've tried, believe me." said Jo. "But, whenever we use any kind light they descend, like a swarm. We have to be really careful of the light we use. We're underground right now, it's the only way we can be sure they won't see us. That's why Dad thought you were sent by them, you weren't worried about using light. It's just lucky Dad got to you before they saw."

"Right, sorry about that, didn't realize a little light could trigger an alien invasion." said The Doctor apologetically.

At that moment General Hayes appeared at the door, looking serious. "Come with me." he said to The Doctor. "I want to show you something."


	2. Sacrifice

I own nothing, all rights and characters property of the BBC. I'm just borrowing them.

Reviews are always appreciated.

* * *

General Hayes led The Doctor down a dim corridor, while Jo trailed behind them.

"Where are we going, exactly?" asked The Doctor, a bit nervously.

"It's just through here." replied General Hayes, pointing to a door up ahead.

A moment later the three of them passed through the door, into a scene that nearly broke The Doctor's hearts. The large room was packed with people in various states of misery. They were filthy with deep sunken eyes, perpetually widened in terror. An infant was wiling nearby.

"How many?" asked The Doctor.

"A hundred each room." said General Hayes leading them out and shutting the door behind him.

"How many rooms?" asked The Doctor.

"All of them." replied General Hayes, gesturing to the corridor in front of them.

"That's over a dozen rooms, there must be hundreds, thousands." exclaimed The Doctor.

"They are overcrowded and underfed. They come to us when there's nowhere else to go. Some take their chances on the outside, but they don't usually last long. This is the only place people are really safe."

"Can you help us?" asked Jo suddenly. "Please tell me that you can help us. You're our only hope."

"Yes," said The Doctor. "I can help."

"Well, for starters you can accompany us on the next pickup, we leave in twenty minutes." said General Hayes, turning to go.

"Er, pick up of what?" asked The Doctor falling into step with Hayes as he walked briskly back up the corridor.

"People." replied Hayes. "We had a guy come to us last night, told us about a flat full of people, crammed in, kids and everything. He told us that they're starving; they're running out of food and are too afraid to leave the place. It was too late to go last night; we'd never have made it back before dawn, so we go tonight."

"Where is this place?" asked The Doctor.

"A couple of miles from here, it shouldn't take too long."

"Yes, but, if they're afraid to leave the house, how do you know they'll go with you?" asked The Doctor.

"Because they have no other option."

"How do you plan on getting back here without being seen?" The Doctor asked him.

"Very carefully." replied General Hayes.

"Right, okay, sounds good." said The Doctor, following General Hayes into a room bustling with men. They were soldiers, all armed and ready for action. They wore large pairs of night-vision goggles around their necks. They laughed and joked, seemingly unaware of the dangers they faced.

"Prepare yourself," said General Hayes to The Doctor. "You have ten minutes."

The Doctor scanned the room quickly, his eyes falling on a young man, quite the opposite of his fellow soldiers. He sat alone, looking terrified. He couldn't have been more than twenty. "Are you alright?" asked The Doctor sitting down beside him.

"Oh yeah," he said nervously. "I'm fine."

"What's your name?" asked The Doctor.

"Sam."

"It's alright to be scared, Sam."

"This is my first time out." said Sam, ignoring The Doctor's statement. "I joined just after my Dad died, wanted to help fight what killed him, Mum said he'd be proud. Thing is, this lot have been out so many times, they know what they're doing. What if I mess up, Mum would be so disappointed that I didn't live up to his name y'know." Sam finished speaking, looking incredulous at how much he had said.

The Doctor put his hand on Sam's shoulder reassuringly. "Everything is going to be fine, this is a routine trip. Just stick with me; you'll be fine, okay?"

"Have you fought monsters before?" asked Sam.

"Yes, I have."

"Did you win?"

"Yes, I did." said The Doctor, smiling slightly. "With help from people like you, that's how I know everything is going to be okay, lots of experience in the field."

"Did you ever get scared?" Sam asked.

"Are you kidding me? I was terrified, every time, scared out of my pants."

"Really?" asked Sam, less nervously than before.

"Trust me, I'm The Doctor."

"Alright men," called General Hayes. "Are you ready?"

The Doctor stood and approached Hayes who turned on him sternly. "Why are you not armed, guns are on that wall there." he said, pointing to a rack of vicious looking rifles.

"I won't be needing one of those, just my sonic screwdriver and I'll be fine."

Hayes looked at him disbelievingly. "Are you mad?" he asked.

"Quite," replied The Doctor. "Now my screwdriver, if you please."

"Fine," Hayes said a little uncertainly, he turned to the man on his left. "Williams, return this man's … screwdriver."

Williams pulled the screwdriver out of his pocket and handed it to The Doctor. "You've not fiddled with it, have you?" he asked. "Very temperamental, they are."

"No sir." replied Williams.

"Good." said The Doctor turning back to Hayes.

"You will be needing a pair of goggles, unless you can see in complete darkness." General Hayes said.

"Nope, can't do that." The Doctor said cheerfully.

"That cupboard there." said Hayes pointing across the room.

"Splendid." said The Doctor going to the cupboard and pulling out a large pair of goggles. He then went back to stand with Sam, who was looking much less calm. "Ready, Sam?" he asked.

Sam looked like he was going to be sick and didn't say anything. "Alright," Hayes shouted. "Let's move out." He led them out of the room and down several corridors. As they walked The Doctor realized that the floor was getting steeper and steeper. Minutes later they stopped and the lights clicked off. "Goggles on!" shouted Hayes.

The Doctor fumbled in the darkness with the mess of straps attached to his pair of goggles. He was getting desperate when a pair of hands took the contraption from him and placed them securely over his eyes. With the goggles on he saw that it was Sam who had helped him. He flashed him a grateful smile and a thumbs up.

Up ahead they heard a door open, without warning the line of men began moving. Seconds later, The Doctor and Sam, side by side, stepped out into the darkness and the unknown.

The Doctor blinked, finding it difficult to see with the goggles on. To him everything just looked like muddled green masses. He looked around trying to get his bearings. Noticing his discomfort, Sam leaned over and spoke quietly to him, so that the others couldn't hear. "They take a few minutes to get used to," he said. "Just relax."

"Thanks." murmured The Doctor gratefully. Sure enough after a few minutes the indecipherable objects around him began to resolve themselves into a perfectly normal street corner. Moments later the group started moving silently. They were on high alert and moved so quickly The Doctor wondered how they managed to stay so quiet. He winced every time he scuffed his foot or kicked some of the debris that littered the street. When he did he received anxious looks from the soldiers nearest him. Many minutes passed like this, in tense, near silence. Just as suddenly as they had started, they stopped. Up ahead The Doctor saw General Hayes point to a derelict building to his left.

At his command, one by one the soldiers swiftly entered the building. The Doctor and Sam entered last to find a sorry sight. A dirty flat crowded with people who looked half-starved and terrified. General Hayes was having a whispered conversation with a woman who had a small child sleeping in her lap. At first she seemed to be disagreeing with him, but after a few minutes hushed arguing she seemed to concede. She stood, holding the still sleeping child, looking determined. With the help of the soldiers she began to round up all of the people in the flat.

In no time they were ready to move out again. General Hayes turned to them; put a finger to his lips and the disappeared through the doorway. Half of the soldiers went first, followed by the small knot of people, with the second half of the soldiers and The Doctor bringing up the rear. They moved more slowly this time, but thankfully the petrified civilians moved more quietly than The Doctor. After what seemed like hours The Doctor finally saw the base. With a smile of relief he leaned over to Sam and whispered "We made it." Just then everything went horribly wrong.

They came from out of nowhere, descending in a vicious swarm. They fired into the little bunch of humans, scattering them. Up ahead The Doctor heard General Hayes shouting. "Get them to safety, stand your ground men." The Doctor looked to Sam, but he was already running to help get the civilians into the base. "Be careful." The Doctor called to him, he just turned and flashed him a thumbs up. The next thing he knew he was being dragged out of the fray and behind an abandoned car. He turned to see that it was General Hayes who had pulled him to safety. "What are you doing?" he shouted over the din. "I have to find Sam."

"No, you don't" replied Hayes. "You're my responsibility and you're not leaving my sight." The Doctor tried to get away, but Hayes yanked him back forcefully.

The Doctor turned on him furiously. "If you think I'm going to leave Sam out there on his own, then you have seriously misjudged me, let me go."

"No." as Hayes spoke The Doctor felt something cold and metal clamp over his wrist. He looked won and saw that Hayes had handcuffed him to the door handle of the car the crouched beside. The Doctor almost laughed as he reached into his pocket for his sonic screwdriver. His hand closed on nothing and he felt a sudden panic grip his hearts.

"Looking for this?" asked Hayes, holding his screwdriver.

"Give that back to me right now!" The Doctor shouted.

"After the firing's stopped." replied Hayes.

"It may be too late." cried The Doctor.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." said Hayes coldly.

The Doctor spent the next several minutes frantically trying to get his hand free. After what seemed like an eternity, the sound of gunfire stopped. The Doctor immediately held out his hand. "Give me my sonic, you promised."

Hayes handed it over and The Doctor snatched it from his hand and pointed it to the metal bracelet he wore. With a blast from the sonic screwdriver he was free. He leapt to his feet and sprinted away yelling for Sam. He saw many soldiers timidly emerging from their various hiding places, but none was the one he wanted. After a few minutes desperate searching The Doctor spotted a body lying next to a pile of debris. "No!" he cried as he approached. When he got closer he saw a familiar face twisted in agony. "Sam." he whispered as he knelt beside him.

"Doctor?" he said hoarsely.

"I'm here, look it's me. You're going to be alright, I promise." the lie tasted bitter on his tongue as he saw the extent of Sam's injuries. By the looks of it Sam had been hiding behind the pile of debris when it had been struck. The force of the impact had sent a nasty piece of shrapnel into Sam's chest. He was bleeding heavily and his breath was coming in short ragged gasps. There was nothing he could do.

"Doctor." Sam gasped.

"Don't speak," The Doctor said pulling him close. "Save your breath."

"Did I do good?' he asked. At that moment he looked impossibly young.

"You did amazing." The Doctor told him. "Your Dad would be so proud."

"Really?" he asked, the hope in his voice broke The Doctor's heart.

"Absolutely." said The Doctor reassuringly.

"Could you do something for me?" asked Sam feebly.

"Anything."

"Could you find my Mum? She's here, her name is Mary. Could you give her this?" he reached up and pulled a pendant from his neck with the last of his strength and held it out to The Doctor. The Doctor took the pendant and held Sam's trembling hand. "Tell her I love her." he said.

He was fading fast, The Doctor held his hand tighter. "I will, I promise I will." The Doctor said to him.

"I miss the stars." said Sam weakly. "Back home I always wanted to go out there, into space. Do you think that's where I'm going now, into the stars?"

"I know that's where you're going."

"What's it like out there?"

"It's beautiful." said The Doctor softly. "The sky is like black velvet and the stars are so bright, they're like diamonds cut out of the sun. Looking out there you can see it all, the raw power, the majesty of the universe and it is absolutely breath taking."

Sam died in The Doctor's arms, with a smile on his face and hope in his heart. The Doctor didn't know how long he sat there, cradling Sam's lifeless corpse, but eventually Hayes found him. The Doctor stood, wiping the tears from his eyes and faced General Hayes.

"I'm sorry" began Hayes, but stopped when he saw the look on The Doctor's face.

"This makes things very simple," he said fiercely. "Because now there is no power in this world that can stop me."


	3. Loss

I own nothing, all rights and characters property of the BBC. I'm just borrowing them.

Reviews are always appreciated.

* * *

It was a few hours after the attack, The Doctor sat in the Armory, the same place he had been chatting happily with Sam, what seemed like ages ago. The Doctor heard something move and looked up to see Jo hovering nervously at the door.

"It's okay," he told her. "You can come in."

She crossed the room and sat next to The Doctor exactly where Sam had. "Are you alright?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The Doctor replied, knowing how unconvincing he sounded.

"I'm sorry, Doctor…for what happened. I couldn't believe what Dad did, I've never shouted at him like that before. I'd seen Sam around before, he seemed so nice."

"He was." The Doctor said quietly.

"What are you going to do now? Will you stay? Will you help us? I won't blame you for leaving, not after…" Jo trailed off.

"Yes, I'll stay, but there's something I have to do first." The Doctor clenched his fist around the pendant Sam had given him, he hadn't let go of it since. The Doctor sighed just as General Hayes walked into the room.

"Jo," said Hayes. "Could you leave us alone for a moment?"

Jo patted The Doctor's arm before getting up and walking out, glaring at her father as she went. "Sam's mother, where is she?" asked The Doctor before Hayes even had a chance to speak.

"She's here." was all he said.

"I need to see her, take me to her." said The Doctor.

"Now Doctor, listen-" began Hayes.

"No! You listen," said The Doctor getting to his feet. "I made Sam a promise. As he lay dying in my arms, terrified, he asked me to find his Mum. So if you think you're going to stop me you've made a terrible mistake."

"Alright." said Hayes realizing it was pointless to argue. "She's in my office, waiting to be told that her only son is dead. You can do the honors if you'd like."

The Doctor just nodded and walked away. He was at the door when Hayes spoke. "I really am sorry, you know."

The Doctor heard the sadness on his voice. "I know." he said without looking at Hayes and left the room.

The Doctor stood outside Hayes' office, looking for the strength to open the door. He could just walk away; get in his T.A.R.D.I.S and leave. He thought of Sam then, and Jo and he knew he couldn't. He sighed as he opened the door and stepped inside.

A woman stood wringing her hands, wrought with worry. When she saw The Doctor she immediately began bombarding him with questions. "Who are you? Why have I been brought here? Where's my son, where's Sam? Is he alright?"

When she quieted The Doctor motioned for her to sit down. She complied, eyeing him warily as she did. He sat down beside her. "I'm The Doctor." he said.

"So you're the one everyone's been talking about. They say you're going to save the world."

"Mary," began The Doctor. "I have something to tell you. It's about Sam."

"What happened to him Doctor?" asked Mary.

"He died."

Mary burst into tears. "I knew it. Oh God, the second they brought me here, I knew. I'd hoped he was just injured, but I knew, they're faces said it all. My boy! Sam! How did it happen Doctor, where you there?"

"Yes, I was there and I just want to say that your son was a wonderful person." said The Doctor, knowing he'd have to tell Mary what happened and dreading reliving it. "It was a sort of extraction mission." began The Doctor. "Sam's first. We were going to get a group of people and bring them back here, that's it. We got there no problem, but on the way back we were attacked. Sam and I were separated, I tried to get to him, but I couldn't. When the firing had stopped I went to find him, when I did…he'd been badly injured. I'm sorry there was nothing I could do. I stayed with him, till the end. He asked me to find you, he wanted you to know that he loved you very much and he wanted me to give you this."

The Doctor handed Mary the pendant, she took it with trembling fingers. "It was his father's; Jim gave it to him when he was a boy. He loved it, never took it off. He was such a sweet boy." Mary was once again wracked with sobs. The Doctor put his hand on her shoulder. "I talked with him you know, before we left. He told me about his Dad, your husband. He said that he wanted to make him proud and I want you to know that Sam died a hero." The Doctor sat with the still weeping Mary, not knowing how to console her. He didn't know how much time had passed when he heard a knock at the door. "Come in." he said.

A soldier entered the room, The Doctor recognized him as one of the men that had been a part of the extraction team. "General Hayes would like a word with you sir, if you're not busy that is." he said, looking as if he'd been crying.

The Doctor turned to Mary. "Do you want me to stay?" he asked her.

"No, that's alright. I think I'll go back to my room now." she stood and before she left she laid a hand on The Doctor's cheek. "Thank you, for staying with him." she said.

"I'm sorry." The Doctor told her.

Mary just nodded and left. The Doctor approached he soldier. "I'm ready, where's Hayes?"

"Right this way." he said leading The Doctor from the room. "Damn shame about Sam." said the soldier as they walked along.

"Yes, it is." The Doctor replied, noting that the soldier was around Sam's age. "Did you know him?"

"Yeah, was my friend."

"I'm sorry." said The Doctor.

"Yeah, me too." said the soldier stopping outside a closed door. "He's in there, waiting for you."

"Thanks." said The Doctor.

"Can you beat them?" the soldier asked suddenly. "Please tell me you can."

"Yes, I can beat them." The Doctor told him as he opened the door and stepped into the room.

Hayes was standing facing the wall, hands clasped behind his back when The Doctor entered. "I'm sorry about Sam." said Hayes without turning around.

"Me too." said The Doctor sadly.

"You've spoken to his mother?"

"Yes."

How is she?" asked Hayes.

"She's just lost her son, how do you think she is?"

"Right well," began Hayes awkwardly. "We need to focus, Doctor. This war isn't going to fight itself." Hayes finally turned to face The Doctor, his face set in grim determination. "We need a plan of action."

"I know what has to be done." said The Doctor.

"Yeah well, would you care to enlighten me?" asked Hayes.

"I go up alone and confront them." The Doctor replied.

"Oh alright," said Hayes sarcastically. "Why didn't I think of that before, walk right into their waiting arms so they can slaughter you like all the rest."

"I'll be fine."

"Yeah sure you will," said Hayes. "And even if I were to consider this insane plan, which I'm not, how are you going to get there. Just gonna waltz into a hostile alien ship, are you?"

"I've got the T.A.R.D.I.S." said The Doctor.

"You're not serious are you? Please tell me that you're not serious." said Hayes, almost begging.

"I am absolutely serious." replied The Doctor fiercely. "Because there have been too many deaths, way too many people have died, nut no more. Do you hear me? I'm going to park right on top of that ship, find out what it is that's doing this, and then I'm going to stop it."

"Can you really do that?" asked Hayes.

"Yes I can, I swear to you I will."

"Alright," Hayes conceded. "What do you need?"

"I'll need my T.A.R.D.I.S, a pair of night vision goggles, and a fez if you've got one."


	4. The Legion

I own nothing, all rights and characters property of the BBC. I'm just borrowing them.

Reviews are always appreciated.

* * *

The Doctor stood outside the T.A.R.D.I.S, wearing a pair of night-vision goggles, and sadly no fez. A group of soldiers had brought him out; he never would have found his way on his own seeing as he was unconscious the last time he made the journey.

"Ready, old girl?" he asked as he unlocked the door. He heard something move behind him and he spun around pulling out his Sonic Screwdriver.

"Who's there?" he called. "I warn you I'm armed."

"I thought it wasn't a weapon." came a voice from behind a pile rubble. A figure appeared and side-stepping the debris approached him.

"Jo?" The Doctor cried. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to help." she said.

"No, it's too dangerous. How did you even get here?"

"I followed you."

"Right, well, I'm calling the soldiers back. They won't have got that far, they can take you back." "The Doctor pulled a communicator out of his packet. "Neat huh, you're Dad gave it to me." He put the device to his mouth.

"Please don't do this," begged Jo. "I can't let you go on your own. I want to help."

"I'm doing this for." he said as he flipped a switch on the communicator. "Sorry boys, gonna need you to come back, someone's been left behind."

The communicator crackled then a voice spoke. "We copy Doctor, we're turning back now. We should be about five minutes."

"Good, thank you." The Doctor replied. He looked to Jo, who was now glaring sullenly at him. "I'm sorry," he said. "But I can't let anything happen to you."

"I can take care of myself." she said.

"People have traveled with me before and they've got hurt. I keep making the same stupid mistakes, but not today. Trust me; I'm just trying to keep you safe."

"It wasn't me I was worried about, Doctor"

The Doctor didn't reply. They waited in silence for a few minutes. Then The Doctor heard footsteps approaching.

"That will be the soldiers. You'll be fine, they'll look after you."

"And who looks after you?" Jo asked.

The Doctor smiled sadly at her. "I have to go now, Jo, but I promise you will be safe, all of you." he raised a hand in farewell. "Goodbye." he said.

"Doctor!" she cried, but it was too late. He had stepped into the T.A.R.D.I.S and it immediately began to disappear.

The soldiers arrived then. "Where's The Doctor?" one of them asked, looking around.

"He's gone." said Jo.

The Doctor quietly stepped out of the T.A.R.D.I.S, taking off his goggles as he did so. He found himself in a dimly lit corridor. He pulled out Sonic Screwdriver and did a quick scan for life forms, nothing. He silently made his way down the corridor, coming to a door on his left; he opened it and stepped inside.

It was brighter in the room. The Doctor could see a console of some kind and he hurried over to it. He was disappointed when he got there. It was a piece of technology unlike anything he had ever seen. It was covered in strange symbols that not even the T.A.R.D.I.S could decipher.

Seeing nothing in the room that could help him, he decided to try his luck somewhere else. He reentered the corridor and kept moving. After some time he reached the end of the corridor. He stood before a much larger door with a much more advanced locking mechanism, still no problem for his screwdriver. 'This looks promising' he thought as he moved to enter the room. Before he made it inside he felt a sharp pain in his neck and The Doctor knew no more.

He awoke slowly, still feeling groggy. "I really need to find a way a way to stop things sneaking up on me." he said to himself. He started to take stock of the situation and soon realized it was much worse than before. He was shackled to a metal table by his wrists and ankles. He looked around and his hearts fell when he saw several metal trolleys containing some nasty looking medical equipment, or torture devices, he wasn't sure which.

"Okay, this is not good," he said. "And it's about to get much worse." The Doctor sensed something approaching, he couldn't hear anything, but he knew they were coming. Whatever "they" were, he had no idea and he really didn't want to find out. He heard a clicking sound, like a key board and then the metal table he was lying on began to rise until he was standing upright, or hanging would be a better word.

"Hello?" he called uneasily. "I'm The Doctor."

He heard something so quiet he almost didn't think it was real. It was the sound of fabric being dragged across the floor, but by whom? The sound continued for a moment until a figure stepped out of the shadows and stood before him. It had a basic humanoid shape, but that was all he could tell, for it was shrouded head to foot in black fabric.

"Why don't you take off that hood, let me get a look at you." said The Doctor trying to sound nonchalant.

"No living creature may look upon us." it spoke in a horrible rasping voice.

"What about your mates, they must look at you."

"They are not alive and very soon neither will you be."

"Okay," said The Doctor worriedly. "That sounds a bit ominous. Who are you lot anyway and what are doing here?"

"We are the Legion of the Dead." it said. "We are the many. We will replenish our ranks and rise to make war with the universe. These humans will join us."

"The Legion?" The Doctor said. "I've heard stories about you. You tried to convert the entire universe, kill is more like it. But the universe fought back, your people were slaughtered. The Shadow Proclamation ordered your extinction."

"Some of us survived. This time we will not fail." it said fiercely.

"Like I haven't heard that before." scoffed The Doctor. "And what you're going to convert the humans down there? You try to take them they will fight back. I can assure you of that."

"We have already converted 6,442 of them."

"What? How'd you manage that?" asked The Doctor angrily.

"We take them, the ones who are alone, the ones who won't be missed. After the attacks we take the dead, life is not required for conversion."

"You bring them back and make them like you?" asked The Doctor horrified.

"Correct."

"I will stop you!" The Doctor shouted furiously. "I'm The Doctor. Do you hear me? You will not touch another human. I swear I will stop you!"

The creature emitted a strangled hissing sound and The Doctor realized with horror that it was laughing. "Oh Doctor, you cannot stop us. You will join us."

"What? No!" cried The Doctor desperately. "You can't convert me, I'm not human."

"Humanity is not a requirement." it said coldly. "We will take your life Doctor, inch by inch. Purging you of everything you are."

"No! You can't do this!"

"It is done."

The Doctor looked up to see several more creatures advancing on him. One held a large syringe. He struggled against his bonds in futility. The Doctor felt a sharp pain in his neck and he once again fell unconscious.

He slowly became aware of voices nearby. He tried to open his eyes, but couldn't muster the strength so he contented himself with listening.

"He is stronger than the others, he is resisting." said one of the Legion.

"He will succumb in time, they all do." another replied.

The Doctor heard footsteps and realized a third creature had entered the room. It spoke brusquely to the other two. "We will be moving on soon. He will be the last conversion of this world."

"And the cleanup?" the first asked.

"Standard procedure, planetary incineration." it replied harshly.

The Doctor was finally able to open his eyes, he saw the messenger leaving. The Doctor tried to speak, but only a low groaning came out.

"He's awake, good." one of the creatures said almost gleefully.

The Doctor tried again. "What did he mean?" has asked thickly.

"Planetary incineration," it said. "We cannot remain too long on one planet for fear the Shadow Proclamation will become aware of our return. We convert what we can and move on."

"And you burn the rest; there are 3 billion people on that planet."

"A necessary sacrifice."

The creatures turned to go, The Doctor shouted after them, but they ignored him, leaving him completely alone. As he lay strapped to the table, trying to think of something, anything he could do, a strange feeling came over him. A tingling sensation began in his chest and spread outward to the rest of his body.

The Doctor began to struggle, wrenching at his bonds with all the strength he possessed, but to no avail. He knew what was coming and he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it. He cried out in hopeless frustration as the tingling in his body intensified. It grew and grew until he was no longer tingling, he was burning. He felt as if his blood were on fire, never before had he experienced such pain.

He tried not to cry out, not wanting to give them the satisfaction, he tried, but he failed. It became too much for him and he found himself screaming in agony. Tears streamed down his face as the screams tore themselves from his throat. Through the fiery wall of pain in his mind The Doctor realized something. He suddenly knew what they were doing to him. They were embalming him, pumping his body full of a solution that would course through him, changing him. The Legion of the Dead, no heartbeat, no life, no nothing and he was to join them.

He struggled to hold on, he thought of the friends he had had, the people he had loved. He tried so hard, but the pain only intensified. 'I can't do this.' he thought desperately. 'Oh God, I can't do this.' He held on to his last ounce of strength, but as the agony reached a new height, he let out wrenching howl and let go. For the first time in his life, The Doctor gave up, he succumbed and when he did the pain stopped and felt at peace.


	5. The Beginning of the End

I own nothing, all rights and characters property of the BBC. I'm just borrowing them.

Reviews are always appreciated.

Sorry about the delay on this chapter, I've been super busy.

I hope you enjoy the conclusion. :)

* * *

The Doctor came to several hours later. He no longer felt any pain; the boiling in his blood had subsided, to be replaced with a brutal coldness that was now stealing through his veins. It remained only in his hands and feet, for now. He knew it would spread, rapidly and when its' icy hand gripped his heart, he would be lost.

"But it hasn't happened yet!" he told himself fiercely. "I can still end this, but first I need to get off this table."

He looked at the clamps around his wrists thinking wistfully of his sonic screwdriver and knowing that there was no way he could get it out of his pocket, if it was still there, that is.

He looked around the room seeing that his environment was unchanged, save for one thing. The Legion must have examined him when he was unconscious, because the rolling tray of medical tools was much closer. He reached for it, straining against his bonds. A moment later he managed to reach the edge and pull it closer. Once he had done this, he selected a scalpel and set to work picking the lock on the clamp. This wasn't an ordinary lock opened with an ordinary key; it was an electronic clamp, opened with a key code, entered in on a keypad across the room.

There was still a way he could unlock it though. If he was very lucky there would be a small slot that he could insert the scalpel into and with some calculated poking and prodding, he could trip the sensors and open the clamps. Filled with ne hope, The Doctor began searching for the slot. After some minutes he began to lose hop, thinking he had been wrong. He ran the scalpel desperately over the clamp and was delighted when it suddenly dropped an inch or so.

The Doctor wiggled the scalpel into the slot and a moment later the clamps sprang open, he was free. He leapt from the table and found to his relief that his sonic screwdriver was still in his pocket. Now all he had to do was find a way of saving the planet below from being destroyed. The coldness has reached his knees and elbows, with mounting apprehension he walked to the door.

The Doctor sonicked the door open and entered a corridor, much like the one he had been in when he arrived. Now that he knew what they were, he could set his screwdriver accordingly. This time when he did a scan for life he found thousands of life forms. He made his way to the greatest concentration of them.

He silently entered the room and hid himself. He was in the main control room and there were over a hundred Legion convened there.

What seemed to be the leader spoke. "Planetary incineration will commence in eleven minutes." it said.

Another creature spoke up. "This Doctor has said they will fight back. Should we not prepare for this eventuality?"

"These humans are tiny; we have 600 ships ready to burn across this world. We will destroy every last human."

The Doctor was reeling, 600 ships? How many thousands on each ship? There were millions of them. How many worlds had they done this to, The Doctor wondered with dawning horror.

He slipped from the room, knowing that he didn't have much time. Planetary incineration in eight minutes and The Doctor had no plan, no weapons, no nothing. He wracked his brains for a way of stopping them, anything. As he thought he realized the iciness had now reached his waist, he could no longer feel his legs, his sense of urgency increased. With sudden, horrible clarity, he realized what he must do. Determined, he made his way to the back of the ship.

He located the control room without too much difficulty and once inside, he hesitated. He knew it had to be done and that was the worst part. Every ship in the fleet was interconnected, destroy one, destroy them all. It would be so easy to reverse the neutron relay of the engine feed. All the energy powering the ship would turn inward, blow the whole lot to kingdom come. The Doctor slammed his fist down on the console, barely registering the fact that he couldn't feel it.

"Why is it always me?" he yelled to the empty room. "Why do I get to decide who lives and who dies, it's not fair!"

The he realized why, not because it was his responsibility as the last of the Time Lords, or because no one else would, no, he did it for them. The humans down on that planet, the brave, flawed humans he loved so much. It was easy, so easy, press a few buttons, sonic a bit. What was it to him, another genocide, another race gone because of him.

There was a moment's hesitation before he flipped the final switch; he realized that he wouldn't make it out before the ship went up. He thought briefly about paradoxes and timelines and a lake in Utah and he realized it didn't matter. This would always be him, saving the day, doing what needed to be done to save the people he loved. Without another thought, he flipped the switch.

Jo had been waiting patiently, or as close to patient as she could be, for hours. She knew that The Doctor was probably dead, but she still hoped. She was in the depths of her despair when she heard it. A series of massive explosions, the room began to shake, heaving and shuddering violently.

"This is it." she thought. "They're finally coming to destroy us." she crouched on the floor, huddled against the wall and waited, resigned. After several long minutes, or hours, she couldn't really tell, it stopped. Surprised to find herself still breathing, she left the room to assess the damage. She was even more surprised to find none.

Approaching a soldier near her, she asked him. "What's going on, what's happened?"

"I got word from the surface, they're gone." he said looking utterly astonished by his own words. "The ships, they just blew up, they're gone."

"Doctor." said Jo more to herself. She turned and ran, leaving the soldier staring blankly after her. She turned a corner at breakneck speed. She bolted down the last corridor and out into the darkness. "Doctor!" she called desperately. "Doctor!"

The Doctor opened his eyes to a familiar sight. He as in the T.A.R.D.I.S, the sickbay, to be precise. More importantly, he could once again, feel his legs. Sitting up, he realized he was lying in the stasis chamber. Lay on one long enough and everything goes back to normal, factory settings. Clambering out of the chamber, he wondered how he had gotten there. The last thing he remembered before blacking out were the sounds of sirens and alarms, proof of his imminent demise. Thinking back, there had been another sound, the most beautiful sound in the entire galaxy. The T.A.R.D.I.S, she must have materialized around him, got him off that ship and healed him. He reached out and patted the nearest bit of wall.

"Thanks Dear." he said smiling."

Jo had bee sitting outside the base I the dark, waiting. She'd got a message from her father a little while ago. He was fine, just taking care of some things. The streets that had been desolate for so long were now full of people with flashlights and lanterns, reclaiming the world they thought they'd lost. Jo tried to feel happy too, but she just couldn't manage it. She knew something must have gone wrong; The Doctor should have been back by now. She had nearly convinced herself that he was never coming back, when she heard a strange sound, a wheezing sort of whine. With a jolt of realization she was off, tearing through the semi-darkened streets toward that sound.

She found him a few blocks away, leaning casually against his blue box and grinning like a mad man.

"You're late." she said unable to surpass a grin of her own. "You did it, you stopped them."

"I said I would, didn't I?" The Doctor replied.

"When the ships blew up, I thought you were…" Jo trailed off.

"Nope." said The Doctor cheerily. "Never been better. Anyway, I just came to say goodbye and thanks."

"You're leaving?" Jo asked.

"I've got to, I've been running from something for a very long time, from the future and I realized that you can't ever run from your future, not really. It always has a way of catching up to you in the end. There's something I've been meaning to do, someone I've been wanting to see."

"I didn't know you made house calls." said Jo teasingly. "This person are they a friend of yours?"

"Yes, he is and I'd like to see him again, before it's too late." said The Doctor sadly.

"Too late for what?" asked Jo.

"That is a story for another day." replied The Doctor.

"Thank you." said Jo. "You saved us."

"Don't mention it." replied The Doctor with a grin. "There's something else I can do, as well. Just you wait." He raised a hand and with a wave and a smile he was back in the T.A.R.D.I.S. A moment later the little blue box vanished in a flash of light.

Jo waited, staring expectantly at the sky. Several minutes later after The Doctor vanished there was a click and everywhere was suddenly bathed in light. General Hayes appeared next to her then, she turned to him.

"He fixed them Dad, he fixed the lights."

"God bless that man, whoever he is." said General Hayes smiling for the first time in a very long time.

Looking to the sky, Jo and her Dad stood hand in hand and saw a blue box flying across the sky, heading out into the distance. She raised a hand and waved.

"Goodbye Doctor." she whispered so quietly her Dad couldn't hear her. They stood like that a moment longer, before turning and heading back, back home.

The End


End file.
